The Health & Wellness Trends We Loved & Hated in the 2010s

The last decade has been a time of massive change and evolution in the health and wellness space. From shifting away from the dogmatic ideas of fitness and wellness as a shame and diet-driven space to something more inclusive and (a work in progress!) to the rise of new products, trends and philosophies that make the general investment in feeling good and being healthy a priority, it’s been quite a ride. When you really think about the world we lived in ten years ago, it’s hard to imagine the evolution of wellness (as both an industry and a ~larger cultural concept~): from Goop and Crossfit to Peleton and Influencers to Plant-based and CBD-infused everything.

So, of course, we wanted to know what the big wellness take-aways were for the 2010s. How have we changed for the better? Where can we still improve? Calling on members of our community and our team — real people who are parents, business-owners and just humans trying to go about living their best lives in human bodies — we asked everyone to share the wellness trends they loved and hated from the last ten years and here’s what they had to say:

The 2010s wellness trend you loved/want to stick around & why?I loved the rise of witchy wellness. I feel like it was a response to all the ways we’ve been told to separate our minds, bodies and spirits over the years and just the general “everything is very bad” vibes we’ve been experiencing, but seeing tarot introduced into people’s self-care routines, crystals (when appropriate and safe!), intention-setting and meditation introduced into our sex lives and just a real focus on letting the every day magic of your body doing it’s thing feels very necessary (and fun).

The 2010s wellness trend you hated/want to see go away & why?Don’t hate me, but fitstagrams as side ~accountability~ projects really stressed me out — especially when the content wasn’t tagged or possible to really escape from without unfollowing people whose work I otherwise dig. The documentation of wellness, health and fitness in this performative way can be triggering for people in ED recovery, can create dysphoric energy in your feeds (especially when it gets body negative) and distort what a personal wellness journey can be (a joyful, deeply personal thing!) into something icky.

The 2010s wellness trend you loved/want to stick around & why?
Intermittent fasting because it doesn’t specify which foods you should eat but rather when you should eat them. It’s easy to stick to and it works! I have lost 6 lbs and have kept it off but mostly I feel amazing. I fast daily for 16-and twice a week I fast for 24 hours.

The 2010s wellness trend you hated/want to see go away & why?
Keto died. It’s too restrictive, too hard to stick too and too hard on your heart. It can lead to heart disease and high cholesterol.

Katy Wong, Lead Editor Intern at New York Minute Magazine, @NYMinuteMag

The wellness trend you loved/want to stick around & why?
The wellness trend I loved is the popularity of matcha powder! Matcha has always been a staple ingredient in Asian countries like Japan and China, though it just recently became a must-have in the states. I love how you can use it in anything, whether it’s in a latte, cookies, pancakes, and even just water. The best part is that it has several medicinal properties, like fighting against cancer and preventing heart disease.

The 2010s wellness trend you hated/want to see go away & why?
The wellness trend I hated was tea-toxes! Although I’m a huge tea advocate, I don’t support Instagram influencers claiming a “magical” tea will help people instantly shed pounds and shrink your stomach. Not only do these tea-toxes not work, they’re also super expensive. I’d rather just stick to drinking plain old water, which essentially detoxes your body naturally without having to pay $70.

The 2010 wellness trend you loved/want to stick around & why?
CBD infused beverages — not all CBD beverages are created equal, but when Recess hit the market I was all about it. Soon after many other brands like Kin Euphorics [editor’s note: Kin Euphorics doesn’t contain CBD, but is an alternative with its own mix of adaptogens+nootropics+botanics] launched, many of these brands being founded by former marketers from major corporate beverage brands (which makes sense). I think it’s a great way to be able to sip something different from alcohol yet still feel like you’re joining the party (and chilling out).

Perineum Sunning — I love the sunshine and I gotta say, this looks like it feels pretty good. Just remember to wear sunscreen 😉

The 2010 wellness trend you hated/want to see go away & why?
Meditation clubs. I know this sounds harsh, but some of these “clubs” are more about social networking and being “on trend” as opposed to actually dropping in to share space and practice meditation. While I think the encouragement and support system is a great thing generally speaking, for some reason this has just come off to be a bit fake to me.

The 2010 wellness trend you loved/want to stick around & why?
2010 came with the introduction of health apps for smart phones and I love it and want it to stick around. I think it is here to stay and is only going to get better and better. As a PT and advocate on health and wellness, I feel that, with people’s busy lives, these apps help people workout on their own with a small amount of technology — from wherever they are. They can be in their home, out running, traveling for business and at a hotel and they can pull up an app and get a workout in. I think that’s great. I also think it is helpful for people to be able to scan their food and track their calories and nutrition they are taking in. I’m hoping all of these items help us to become a healthier society.

The 2010 wellness trend you hated/want to see go away & why?
I could name a few of them, but since I am a PT I will pick the running socks. I feel that people need good supportive shoes for running. Running, over time, can put wear and tear on our bodies, so be running in a sock that doesn’t give much support, or to be barefoot running for that matter, seems downright dangerous is the long run. It will eventually stretch out the tendons and ligaments, causing laxity in the foot. This lack of support can cause fractures to occur more easily. Goodbye, running socks.

The 2010 wellness trend you loved/want to stick around & why?
I hope that self care sticks around. It is so good for women to take time for themselves. From getting a massage, facials, buying fresh flowers. The sky is the limit.

The 2010 wellness trend I hated and want to see go away & why?
Counting calories and juice cleanses because they’re temporary solutions to losing weight that you are not able to sustain.

The 2010 wellness trend you loved/want to stick around & why?
Animal yoga is probably the best trend to come out of early 2010. Nothing like hanging out with baby animals to get your om on!

The 2010 wellness trend I hated and want to see go away & why?
So I did the military diet in high school to fit into my prom dress. Needless to say I didn’t fit into my prom dress and was still hungry.

The 2010 wellness trend you loved/want to stick around & why?
Open conversations about sex, periods, fertility, and pleasure! It’s been a slow build but 2019 saw the rise—and in some cases, resurrection—of people taking ownership of their bodies, desires, and pleasures. Open conversations are key to reducing the shame of our often sex negative world, and help people break free of shoulds, judgment, and expectation.

The 2010 wellness trend I hated and want to see go away & why?Self care as a(n Insta-worth) panacea. By placing self-care as the key to all our ills, it’s become another yardstick to measure ourselves against. In reality, much of the most impactful self care happens in the dark, messy corners of life—sitting with big feels, letting go of old hurts, noticing brutal thought patterns, doing your physical therapy exercises, avoiding caffeine or alcohol, etc. It’s not instagrammable or pretty. Never mind, that self care alone is not enough. We need community care. It’s not about doing more bubble baths, reading another self help book, or working out harder—it’s about coming together to share stories, life one another up, and dismantle the idea that doing MORE is key to anything.

The 2010 wellness trend you loved/want to stick around & why?Oat milk! I absolutely adore oat milk lattes, from adding in some matcha or really going for it with a matcha lavender mix. While not strictly a wellness trend, I’m grateful that non-dairy milks are popular enough that I can find a variety of them (something I would never have anticipated a few years ago!) and can do so easily and for a reasonable price.

The 2010 wellness trend I hated and want to see go away & why?
Dangerous uses of crystals, from crystal water bottles to the whole jade egg in the vagina fiasco. Can I also say bullshit vaginal healthcare products? If I see one more Instagram ad for a wipe, vulva shampoo, or something to spray up my vag, I’m going to throw my phone into a lake.

The 2010 wellness trend you loved/want to stick around & why?
Plant-based meats. Finally, alternative proteins that even carnivores would happily devour! They’re better for the environment, better for your health, better for the animals, and- oh yeah- ACTUALLY taste god! Sounds like a win-win-win-win to me.

The 2010 wellness trend I hated and want to see go away & why?
Cauliflower-everything. We get it: Cauliflower is amazing and incredibly versatile, but can’t we just celebrate it for the vegetable that it is, instead of pretending it’s a pizza, or tater tots, or what have you?

The 2010 wellness trend you loved/want to stick around & why?
CBD infused everything. Going back to a place where we look to the healing properties of plants is def the direction we should be going in a world that’s full of chemicals and over-processed garbage. Also, the mainstream popularity of CBD helps destigmatize the poor maligned cannabis plant.

The 2010 wellness trend I hated and want to see go away & why?
Wellness bloggers peddling bullshit advice. Literally anyone with an internet connection can be pushing dangerous advice on people. Many wellness instagrams are thinly veiled ED advertisements that further blur what health truly is for the average person just trying to muddle through the muck of health info. Enough!